Improvement in steam-boilers



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN F. COWAN, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN STEAM-BOILERS.

Specicatiou forming part of Letters Patent No. 45,589, dated December 27, 1864.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. OowAN, ot' the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful improvement in steam-boilers, soda-fountains, and other vessels which are required t0 sustain great pressure, made ot' wrought or malleable metal; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable any person skilled in the art tov make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l represents a longitudinal vertical section ot' my invention on the line .r of Fig. 2 ot' a steam-boiler constructed after my invention, and Fig. 2 represents a transverse section ot' the boiler on the line y of Fig. 1.

Similar letters oi reference indicate like parts.

In this illustration of my invention, A represents a steam-boilercomposed of three sec tional parts, B, which, when properly con structed and joined together, make up the body or shell of the boiler. The outer sections, B, have heads C Gf, in which are secured the dues a, only two ot' which are shown. The sections B are to be made in any proper man ner, as by riveting or otherwise; but l prefer that their sides should be closed by welding instead of riveting.

The several sections B ot which the boiler is to be composed are held together by means of a stay-rod, D, which passes through the center of the boiler-heads C C', its head b, which is to be made of more than usual strength, abutting upon the outside ot' the head C', and the othir end of the rod being fitted with a nut, e, by which the rod is screwed up and the sections brought snugly together. A washer, d, is interposed between the nut and the boiler-head O to make a tight joint.

angles to the line ot' the axis of the boiler, whereby they are subjected to all the strain which arises from the longitudinal expansion of the boiler7 as well as that which arises from lateral expansion and from unequal expansion and contraction ot' the lapped edges of the boiler-plates, and are thereby frequently broken, causing leakages and making the boiler unfit for duty. I aim to avoid these evils by animproved way ot making the sectional joints.

The flanges h, being formed within the circumference of the sections, are bent, so that their inner tlat sides lie in planes at right angles to the axis of the sections. They are then riveted together by rivets i in the inside of the boiler, the rivets being parallel with the axis of the boiler. It is evident that the rivets are not in this construction subjected to any strain from expansion or contraction, the whole energy of the longitudinal expansion being expended upon the stay-rod and the contraction being resisted by the flanges themselves. The rivets are drawn upon only when the sections of the boiler are deiiected from a straight line, or, in other words, when the boiler is subjected to vibration, as hereinafter stated.

An anchor or stay piece (only one being shown in the drawings) like J is secured within the boiler and across it, upon the anges h, by means of the rivets t', which hold the flanges together. These anchors may be placed at each sectional joint, or they may be placed at less distances apart, according to t-he degree of stitt'ness it is desired to give to the boiler. One chief advantage which results from the use of the anchors is that they counteract the lateral strain upon the boiler. The stay-rod D passes through this anchor, and is thereby steadied and held in place. The hole which is cut through the boiler-head C for the passage of the stay-rod D isto be made of greater diameter than what would be necessary for 'that purpose in order that it may also serve as By using the perforation in the head C as a man-hole I avoid the cutting an additional hole in the boiler for that purpose, and thereby save not only that expense, but also the expense ot' packing it and the liability of leakage from that source. vEither of the perforations through the heads C Cmay be enlarged for this purpose, and it will of course be most convenient to employ that oneof the holes therefor which is to be covered with the washer and nut of the stay-rod.

In practice this boiler may be of any con venient length and diameter, and if its diameter shall be three to four feet, or thereabout, the stay-rod should be about three and onehalf inches in diameter, so as to have suffi cient strength to hold the sections together against the pressure of the steam, and also against the shocks and jar which would come upon it when the boiler is used upon locomotives.

The heads C C should be arched to sustain the strain ot' the stay-rod. As the expansion of the sides of the boiler will be greater than that of the stay-rod, a constantstrain will be made upon the boiler-heads C C by means of the head b and nut e of the stay-rod, and the joints f will by that means be the more compressed and tightened. The curved or flaring corners or angles of the joints j' have the effect of giving a degree ot' elasticity to the joints, which will prevent the joints from being rent by this compression, while this elasticity has no tendency to open the joints at any point. l

When the boiler is used for locomotives, it will withstand the jars and shocks and torsion to which boilers of that class are subjected without any tendency to leak, for thev reason that the joints f will permit of considerable vibration of the different sections by reason of their iiarin g or curved corners s, the joints j' being still kept tight when the adjatoward each other on the side of the ieXure of the boiler, while the riveted lange h will still keep the joint tight on the side of the deexure. f

' My invention is applicable to all vessels which are to be subjected to the pressure ot' steam or water or air or gas. lt can be used also in the construction of soda-fountains.

I disclaim the invention shown inthe application of E. Howe, Jr., rejected June 27, 1859, and also the invention shown in Fig. 3, Plate 17, of Peclets Trait de la chaleur, where is shown a boiler made of cast-iron sections united within by means of interior iianges.

My invention applies to boilers and other vessels made of materials possessing elasticity or iiexibility, and I aim to provide for and control the iiexure of the sides of the boiler by means of the curved angles ot' 'the anges of the various sections, as above explained.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. Combining, in sectional steam-boilers and other Vessels of Wrought or malleable metal for sustaining pressure from Within, a stayrod D 'extending through the same, with the iiaring joints f and the flanges h of the sections, substantially as described.

2. The sectional joints f of the several sections of the boiler, made with curved or flaring edges projecting inwardly, substantially as and for the purpose described. A

3. Placing anchors, like J or its equivalent, across -the boiler or other vessel in the line of its diameter, substantially as above described.

BENJAMIN F. GUWAN.

Wi nesses:

WM. F. MGNAMARA, THEO. TUseH. 

